Shelter Bay lease teams negotiations 'positive'

CORRECTION:

The Weekly News has updated and corrected this story, below, by deleting the final two paragraphs that incorrectly stated that attorney Paul Taylor’s statements were “mistaken” and he “erred” in his stating “that the Defendants herein voted to approve the Resolution to bind the Community to the proposed terms set forth by the Swinomish Tribal Authority without an appraisal as required by the Master Lease on Wednesday, April 19, 2023” and that “the Defendants passed a resolution accepting the ten-year increase in rent without and appraisal of membership approval on April 19, 2023” in his motion for reconsideration in Skagit Superior Court April 24 for Jan Henrie’s lawsuit against the five Shelter Bay board of directors officers.

The Shelter Bay Company’s board of directors adopted “Resolution 23-03 approving the Amendment of Business Leases 5020 and 5086 agreeing to an Indexed-Based Approach for Determining the 2023 Rental Adjustment” at its April 19 meeting, as stated in the May Shelter Bay newsletter.

The Shelter Bay master lease with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community expires in 2044. It requires lease price adjustments every 10 years.

The editor regrets these errors in reporting this story.

This updates the May 10 story in the Weekly News

There is no agreement “yet” on the master lease and its renewal after 2044 between Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and Shelter Bay Community representatives but they are “building bridges” and “regularly meeting,” they wrote in an April 17 statement.

The parties agree that land valuation and a fair rental rate for Shelter Bay are the key negotiating points and report continued “positive relationship-building and progress we are making in these recurring meetings” over the past year. Collaboration has brought “the most intensive exchanges in a year’s time since negotiations for a new master lease started in 2013.” Momentum is positive.

“If” an agreement is reached, both sides must gain approval internally, they point out, and also with the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Each side must first explain the agreement’s terms to their communities once it is reached.

Neither court staff nor the defendants’ lawyers have filed documents in response, as of May 9.